Tuesday, 31 December 2013

Various,
often contradictory explanations exist for the tradition. In the main,
rationales reflect prevalent mythology, ignorance of biological and medical
facts, and religious obscurantism. Almost every reference links the custom to
the family’s fear that their daughter won’t be “marriageable.” Unmutilated young
girls are ostracized, labeled as “unclean” or branded as whores; children born
to unexcised women are considered bastards in many societies, and unscarred
genitals are associated with prostitution. Often unmutilated women are
considered illegitimate; they cannot inherit money, cattle or land, nor do they
fetch an adequate bride price.

One
Somalian woman defended her granddaughter’s wish to be infibulated, saying it
“takes away nothing that she needs. If she does not have this done, she will
become a harlot.” The girl’s father, a college-educated businessman, expressed
his uncertainty: “Yes, I know it is bad for the health of girls. But I don’t
want my daughter to blame me later on because she could not find a husband.”

Different
religious and social groupings see genital mutilation as the only way to
protect women from unbridled sexual passion and promiscuity. A19th century
British adventurer/ethnologist who spent many years studying the culture,
language and sexuality of eastern Africa,
wrote that “all consider sexual desire in woman to be ten times greater than in
man. (They cut off the clitoris because, as Aristotle warns, that organ is the
seat and spring of sexual desire.)” Unfortunately, a good portion of the
research was destroyed by his devoted, but Roman Catholic, wife.

Overwhelmingly
the practice is linked to virginity before marriage and fidelity afterward.
Among almost every one of the peoples where the practice exists, polygamy is
the norm. One argument for female excision is that no man can satisfy all of
his wives, so it helps to have women who don’t desire sex. While the truth is
that most men in these societies are too poor to afford more than one wife, the
social reality of male dominance in every sphere of day-to-day existence is the
backdrop to the ritual mutilation of women.

The
origins of this grotesque practice are not known. While often found in Islamic
countries, the procedure is not prescribed in the Koran. In 742 AD the prophet
Mohammed was said to have proposed a reform of genital mutilation; his call to
“reduce but not destroy” has been taken as an instruction to perform only
Sunna, the norm today in Egypt.
While Muslim fundamentalism enforces brutally medieval conditions on women,
including confinement to the home and the stifling veil, only one-fifth of the
world’s 600 million Muslims practice female genital mutilation.

It
is clear that genital mutilations date back to ancient times. The Greek
historian Herodotus noted in the fifth century BC that female circumcision was
practiced by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Hittites and Ethiopians. The Sudanese
refer to infibulation as “Pharaonic circumcision”; the murky origins of the
practice, however, may be inferred from the fact that in Egypt it’s
called “Sudanese circumcision.”

Ritual
genital mutilation has been found to have existed at one time in various forms
among different peoples on every continent. Quite independently of the
tradition in sub-Saharan Africa, infibulation was performed by the Conibo
people of Peru.
The Australian aboriginals used to practice introcision, an enlargement of the
vaginal opening. Anthropologists agree that female mutilation has only occurred
in societies which also practice male circumcision, generally in cultures where
the sexes are strongly differentiated in childhood. Thus some believe that the
practice originated to highlight the difference between male and female at
puberty. The Bambara in Mali,
for example, believe that all people are born with both male and female
characteristics; excision rids the girl of her “male element” while
circumcision removes the “female element” from boys.

The
ritual is the norm in an area south of the Sahara and north of the forest line;
this corresponds generally with the area of Africa
where, with no shortage of land, women and children (and slaves) were once
needed to cultivate the fields and tend domestic animals and were easily
absorbed into polygamous households. While the nature of the means of
production does not determine how humans live in a social/sexual sense, it does
set elastic limits. Thus it seems reasonable to assume that female genital
mutilation has its roots in agricultural society which enabled the development
of a social surplus and then private property. It is only when the determination
of paternity for the purpose of inheritance becomes relevant that society puts
a premium on virginity and marital fidelity on the part of women.

Female
mutilations continue to occur in the rural areas which maintain a subsistence
agrarian economy based on a tribal structure. What’s at stake are traditional
property rights in societies where women are sold like cattle, based largely on
their ability to reproduce. The practice is only somewhat less prevalent today
in the cities. Over the centuries it has become an unquestioned, ingrained
custom.

In Prisoners of Ritual Lightfoot-Klein
reflects on these woman-hating practices as merely “a fact of her life, just as
tremendous hardship, poverty, scarce water and little food, back-breaking
labor, overwhelming heat, dust storms, crippling disease, unalleviated pain,
and early death are facts of her life.” Whatever the rationale for the
mutilation of millions of young girls, whatever its origins centuries ago,
female genital mutilation is today a burning symbol of the all-sided sexual,
social and economic oppression of women.

Three forms of mutilation are generally found in a triangular band
stretching from Egypt south
to Tanzania in the east and
across to Senegal
in the west. Although often referred to as “female circumcision,” there is no
equation with the removal of the penile foreskin that is practiced among all
males in Muslim and Jewish societies and in the U.S. Only the most modified
version, Sunna (“tradition”), can correctly be called circumcision. It
affects only a small proportion of women, largely in non-African countries.
Sunna can entail a simple pinprick of the clitoris; more often the hood of the
clitoris is removed.

Excision, the most common practice in Africa,
entails the cutting of the clitoris, sometimes its removal, and slicing of some
or all parts of the labia minora and majora.

An inexperienced hand or
poor eyesight can lead to puncturing of the urethra, the bladder, the anal
sphincter and/or the vaginal walls. Heavy keloid scarring can impair walking;
the development of dermoid cysts is not uncommon.

A ritual frequently
justified as a guarantor of fertility can lead to sterility.

Most women in the Horn of Africa are also infibulated. In addition
to clitoridectomy, the reduced labia majora are sewn together, leaving a
trivial opening. After the operation, the girl’s legs are bound together from
hip to ankle for up to 40 days to permit the formation of scar tissue.

Urination and menstruation are excruciating ordeals: it can take
up to 30 minutes to empty the bladder; the retention of urine and menstrual
blood guarantees infection.

For infibulated women, sexual intercourse becomes a practically
unbearable burden, especially on the wedding night. Consummation may take
weeks, beginning with the husband having to open his wife’s infibulation with
fingers or a knife or ceremonial sword. The woman must lie still with legs
spread through repeated, bloody penetrations until a large enough opening
becomes permanent. Many women see pregnancy as an escape from these painful and
pleasureless sexual encounters, yet childbirth itself is traumatic.

Scar tissue is often ripped
up as the baby pushes out. Those who have access to hospitals need both
anterior and posterior episiotomies. Many infants die or suffer brain damage in
the second phase of delivery because thick scarring prevents sufficient
dilation of the cervix.

In many countries custom demands reinfibulation after each pregnancy
to ensure women remain “tight as a virgin.”

Hanny Lightfoot-Klein, a social psychologist who spent six years
studying female genital mutilation in Sudan, notes that women without
reinfibulation fear their husbands will leave them.

Some claim to prefer it; in her 1989 book Prisoners of Ritual, she writes:
“A tight fit makes the most of what is left after an extreme excision.”

The practice transcends all class, national and
religious bounds.Most women in northern Sudan are
infibulated, yet the practice has been anathema among the southern peoples.
Among every religion on the continent—Coptic Christians, Muslims, animists, the
“Black Jews” of Ethiopia,
both Catholic and Protestant converts in Nigeria—there are peoples that
persist in female mutilations. Moreover, it is practiced in Burkina Faso among tribes with both
patriarchal and matriarchal cultures.The fight against #FGM continues

Sunday, 22 December 2013

Despite decades of
activists trying to curb the practice and dozens of laws banning it, the
horrific procedure of cutting or removing babies' and girls' external genitalia
continues.

According to an
exhaustive new report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), more
than 125 million girls and women in 29 countries have undergone female genital
mutilation.

The reasons are
varied. It will stop girls from being promiscuous and preserve their virginity,
proponents say. It's socially expected; it's tradition; it's religious.

But it's also
incredibly dangerous and painful, and most of the girls and women who experience
it want it to stop.

The practice occurs
mostly in African and Middle Eastern countries. Women, and men too, say they
subject their daughters to it because they will be socially ostracized if they
don't.

It would be easy to
blame parents, but that would be ignoring the complexities of the issue. The
practice is tied to everything from tradition to patriarchy, and that's part of
the reason attempts to stop it have been only marginally successful.

Way forward

Tougher laws

There are laws
against female genital mutilation in most African nations, but the practice
continues, because the laws don't address the social and cultural reasons for
committing the act in the first place.

If individuals
continue to see others cutting their daughters and continue to believe that
others expect them to cut their own daughters, the law may not serve as a
strong enough deterrent to stop the practice.

Conversely, among
groups that have abandoned [female genital mutilation and cutting], legislation
can serve as a tool to strengthen the legitimacy of their actions and as an
argument for convincing others to do the same.

Ending social ostracism

Many
of the countries where cutting occurs are predominantly Muslim, but it would be
wrong to say the religion is somehow at fault. There are Muslims around the world
who abhors the practice, and it is often linked to other ethnic and social
traditions unique to different regions. According to the UN, organizations that
have encouraged people to abandon the practice "not as a criticism of
local culture but as a better way to attain the core positive values that
underlie tradition and religion, including 'doing no harm to others'" have
had some luck in limiting the procedure.

Efforts to end
[female genital mutilation] contribute to the larger issues of ending violence
against children and women and confronting gender inequalities.

Let’s face it, the
issue of FGM centres on gender imbalance.

Organizations
working to end FGM need to let women know about specific imams, for example,
who have disavowed the practice, so they don't see it as something absolutely
required by their religion.

There is also need
to talk about the health consequences especially mentally after the cutting
which most cut women carry until they die.

Unfortunately
without awareness of the dangers of FGM "women feel very strongly that
they have to cut, that it is a religious obligation and convincing women to
abandon a practice they see as so intrinsic to womanhood in cultures that value
girls as wives and mothers above all else is complicated.

Education

Women in FGM
practising communities’ are not given the same political or educational
opportunities as men. They hold very little power, and even when they want to
end the cycle of mutilation, they face the prospect of being cast out if they
resist. Some women fear that if they do not have their girls cut, they will be
"unsuitable" for marriage, which would doom them to a life of
ostracism and poverty in many places.

Without education
or means to support themselves, women are stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty
and oppression.

Education could
draw women into the labor market, which could weaken traditional family
structures. Women might be seen as desirable partners for their ability to
contribute to household income, which might reduce what some see as the need
for cutting. Schools can also expose girls to people from different cultures
and to mentors who might oppose the practice. While many girls have been cut by
the time they reach school, they may be more likely to not continue the cycle
with their own daughters.

Educating men and
boys about the dangers of cutting is important, too. And the report found that
many men, like women, want the practice to end but feel they have to subject
their daughters to it for social reasons.

Ultimately, as many
as 30 million girls face genital mutilation in the next decade, but there is
some hope.

If, in the next
decade, we work together to apply the wealth of evidence at our disposal, we
will see major progress. That means a better life and more hopeful prospects
for millions of girls and women, their families and entire communities.

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Deeply rooted African
traditions and customs

In most countries where FGM/C is prevalent,
traditional practitioners perform the procedures, cutting the female genitalia
and removing some flesh -- generally the clitoris and inner labia.

Laws alone are not enough to stop female
circumcision as it is difficult to change customs that have been inherited
without educating society about the dangers associated with this practice.

Combating
this phenomenon cannot happen merely by yelling slogans and writing texts; we
have to raise our voices loudly and clearly against female circumcision, and
religious and tribal leaders have to work towards educating the public and
raising awareness within local communities about the dangers of this practice.

We urge the religious leaders in particular
to explain to people that infibulations has nothing to do with Islam.

Female Genital Mutilation not
endorsed by religion

Incorrect religious beliefs and social
traditions are used to justify the tradition. FGM is undesirable and neither a
religious duty nor an obligation. Female circumcision is neither a favourable
duty nor a sunnah and the prophet reprimanded women who performed this practice.
There is no reference or text in the Holy Qur'an that refers to circumcision.

It has no societal value and actually
contradicts the principles of Islamic sharia because it causes harm -- both
physical and psychological -- to girls' health. For this reason, it has to be
avoided in order to prevent harm and to follow the teachings of Islam that
considers causing harm to humans in any shape and form as sinful."

In lots of cases, circumcision causes severe
bleeding and during the first couple of days after the operation, girls find it
difficult to urinate as a result of the severe pain and the narrowing of the
urinary tract. Upon reaching puberty, menstrual cycles become extremely painful
because girls suffer from serious infections, not to mention complications
during childbirth, as circumcision causes problems during the birthing process
that could lead to the mother's death.

A painful, scarring
experience

Annabel from Mozambique’s experience,

"I
can never forget that painful experience of having my genitals cut. I was nine
years old when several women came to our house, some neighbours and some
relatives."

"My
mother ordered me to lie down on my back," she said. "Moments later,
some of the women held me down on the ground while one put her hand tightly on
my mouth to prevent me from screaming. Another woman holding a pair of scissors
and a knife cut off parts of my genitals. I still remember the amount of pain I
felt during this process and suffer from complications from the circumcision as
I have severe pain and infections during menstruation,"

Despite the dangers, many mothers still
insist on having their daughters circumcised and should therefore be stopped.

Female circumcision is a harmful tradition
that our society has been plagued with and most Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia and other Arabian
Gulf countries, do not know this tradition at all.Why would the Muslims in these countries
leave out an important ritual in Islam or the sunnah if female circumcision is
considered such?

It is ridiculous to think that circumcision
protects girls from moral deviance. Circumcision plays no role in preserving
girls' chastity. Instead, a sound upbringing suffices to protect a girl.

Monday, 9 December 2013

Control over
women’s sexuality: Virginity is a pre-requisite for marriage and
is equated to female honour in a lot of communities. FGM, in particular infibulations,
is defended in this context as it is assumed to reduce a woman’s sexual
desire and lessen temptations to have extramarital sex thereby preserving
a girl’s virginity.

Hygiene:
There is a belief that female genitalia are unsightly and dirty. In some
FGM-practicing societies, unmutilated women are regarded as unclean and
are not allowed to handle food and water.

Gender based
factors: FGM is often deemed necessary in order for a girl to be
considered a complete woman, and the practice marks the divergence of the
sexes in terms of their future roles in life and marriage. The removal of
the clitoris and labia — viewed by some as the “male parts” of a woman’s
body — is thought to enhance the girl’s femininity, often synonymous with
docility and obedience. It is possible that the trauma of mutilation may
have this effect on a girl’s personality. If mutilation is part of an
initiation rite, then it is accompanied by explicit teaching about the
woman’s role in her society.

Cultural identity:
In certain communities, where mutilation is carried out as part of the
initiation into adulthood, FGM defines who belongs to the community. In
such communities, a girl cannot be considered an adult in a FGM-practicing
society unless she has undergone FGM.

Religion:
FGM predates Islam and is not practiced by the majority of Muslims, but it
has acquired a religious dimension. Where it is practiced by Muslims,
religion is frequently cited as a reason. Many of those who oppose
mutilation deny that there is any link between the practice and religion,
but Islamic leaders are not unanimous on the subject. Although predominant
among Muslims, FGM also occurs among Christians, animists and Jews.

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Despite the fact that FGM causes pain and suffering
to millions of women and girls and can be life-threatening, it remains deeply
entrenched in certain social value systems.

Changing this reality to bring about positive and
protective social behaviour requires a holistic and integrated approach with harmonized
programmes of action to achieve the common goal of Zero Tolerance to FGM.

Four areas of action could be to inform and train
health professionals, to treat and refer women having been subjected to
mutilations, and prevent possible mutilation of girls born in our country,
especially through regular information to gynaecologists, paediatricians and
school nurses.

In this endeavour, political will and action are
indispensable. Governments have to be fully engaged and must allocate the
necessary human and material resources to the complete elimination of FGM and other
harmful traditional practices (HTPs).

Many States have passed legislation prohibiting
female genital mutilation, but what about enforcement? We are still a long way
from achieving effective implementation.

In addition we should not rule out the practitioners
/ excisors themselves.

They are women of a certain status and knowledge in
their country. Women listen to them, they advise wives on their sexual
relations with their husband, on household matters, on co-wives, etc. We cannot
simply reject these practitioners and say that they are of no value or that
they are murderers. We have to reason with them and explain to them that female
genital mutilation inflicts pains and can even kill. We have to explain to them
that they could divert their knowledge to something more constructive.

Modern and traditional media are also important
actors and can play a major role in the fight against
FGM.

Remember you can do your bit.
Say no to the horrific practice that dehumanises women and children.

Monday, 2 December 2013

The problems of excision and other traditional
practices which negatively affect migrant women and children are exacerbated
due to the displacement of these populations.

FGM is condemned by most of the governments of the
countries involved, which are both countries of origin and countries of
destination.

FGM remains an on going practice in many countries of
the world. It is a destructive practice and
should be stopped. The role of the family is crucial in having these women
adapt to the customs of their new country of residence. Mutilations drain
women’s energy and the resources that they could use to learn the language of their
new country, look for work and send their children to school.

FGM can be an obstacle to
social integration for these migrant women. This is one of the reasons why
fighting FGM should be a priority.

Even for young
girls born or raised in Europe – where prevalence
is fairly high – excision is considered as a right of passage and not
subjecting oneself to this procedure may destroy interfamilial links. For 30
years a number of actions and strategies have been undertaken in Europe to decrease the prevalence of FGM.

In order to protect young girls the work that has
been done by civil society must be acknowledged and authorities must be involved.
Many countries have begun to implement measures: France,
Italy and Portugal in particular. It is therefore important to draw
lessons from the actions undertaken in European countries.

What can we do and what are the actions and the
measures that work?

Campaign to bring together all stakeholders, and for
this we need to build and strengthen women’s capacities and empower migrant
women so that they are in a better position to take charge of their own health
and that of their families, so that they are able to express their needs and take
part in important decisions related to their children.

This also entails literacy campaigns, sending
children to school, mastering the language, having access to the economy, so as to
have necessary financial resources. All of these social determinants need to be
taken into account to fight this problem, so that migrant women
are in a better position to shoulder their responsibilities and combat the
problem. Only if women become empowered and autonomous will the message be
heard and have a positive effect.

Women who come from migrant communities need to know
where to turn if they need assistance for themselves and
their families in terms of health care and other forms of assistance.
All of this needs to be part of an integration policy, not only in the country
of destination but also in the countries of origin.

A lot of work has been done in the countries of
origin of migrant women with a view to informing and empowering them so that they
can take charge of the problem themselves.

Remember it is an uphill battle, because it has to do
with the most intimate part of the human being, and it is a battle where the
victims do not necessarily want to be advised or helped by people from the
outside. So tread with caution.

There are communities that systematically reject
external help because they feel that they have been wounded and simply need to
survive.

We need to take into account all of these cultural
and traditional elements that justify the practice of FGM.

We need to relay the actions taken by parliaments,
governments and by religious leaders in the countries of origin
because the migrant communities are often not aware of what is being done in
their own country against FGM. If new laws are passed it is important to inform
them of this.

Sunday, 1 December 2013

A lot has been said about FGM but what can you do to help stop this horrific practise?

FGM strikes at the
heart of our societies and involves multiple issues; only through a
multidisciplinary approach can efficient progress be achieved in
abandoning FGM.

Parliaments should
work in synergy with civil society, traditional chiefs and religious
leaders, women’s and youth movements and governments to ensure that their
actions are complementary and coordinated.

Strategies for the
abandonment of FGM must be developed in a framework of the promotion of
human rights, the right to education, health, development and poverty
reduction.

Changing mentalities

Parliaments should
also work on awareness and changing mentalities. Because of the social
status incumbent upon their office, members of parliament are in a
position to address sensitive issues and have an impact on public opinion
and mentalities. Awareness activities conducted jointly with community
leaders, religious leaders and women’s and youth groups at the community
level have a decisive impact.

Cooperation with the
media is vital; modern and traditional media need to be involved in all
strategies aimed at abandoning the practice, through awareness,
communication and information campaigns.

It is crucial to
ensure that the message sent out regarding abandonment of FGM is positive,
non-judgemental and consistent. All the actors involved must speak with the
same voice.

Education plays a
fundamental role in the prevention of FGM. With this in mind, it is
necessary to review school curricula at all levels, to sensitize teachers,
and to keep girls in school up until they reach higher education in order
to delay marriage and possibly avoid the genital mutilation that often
precedes it.

Any action aimed at
ensuring the abandonment of FGM must be coupled with initiatives for
community development, in particular through the improvement of the living
conditions of women and children, as part of the fight against poverty.

The drafting of
national action plans for the abandonment of FGM should make it possible
to identify the different roles and responsibilities of the actors
involved, to ensure proper coordination and the complementarities of the
efforts undertaken. The adoption of clear objectives with specific time
frames also facilitates synergy among the various actors. So parliament
has a big role to play.

It is
possible to end female genital mutilation in this generation if we all play our
part. No child or woman should go through this horrific practice.

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Concrete field experience,
together with insights from academic theory and lessons learned from the experience
of foot binding in China
suggest that six key elements can contribute to transforming the social
convention of cutting girls and encourage the rapid and mass abandonment of the
practice.

·A non-coercive
and non-judgmental approach whose primary focus is the fulfilment of human rights
and the empowerment of girls and women is needed.

Communities tend to raise
the issue of FGM when they increase their awareness and understanding of human
rights and make progress toward the realisation of those they consider to be of
immediate concern, such as health and education.

Despite taboos regarding
the discussion of FGM, the issue emerges because group members are aware that
the practice causes harm. Community discussion and debate contribute to a new
understanding that girls would be better off if everyone abandoned the
practice.

·Awareness on the
part of a community of the harm caused by the practice is needed. Through
non-judgmental, non-directive public discussion and reflection, the costs of
FGM tend to become more evident as women – and men – share their experiences
and those of their daughters.

The decision to abandon
the practice as a collective choice of a group that intra-marries or is closely
connected in other ways. FGM is a community practice and, consequently, is most
effectively given up by the community acting together rather than by
individuals acting on their own. Successful

transformation of the
social convention ultimately rests with the ability of members of the group to
organize and take collective action.

·An explicit,
public affirmation on the part of communities of their collective commitment to
abandon FGM. It is necessary, but not sufficient, that most members of a
community favour abandonment.

A successful shift
requires that they manifest – as a community – the will to abandon. This may
take various forms, including a joint public declaration in a large public
gathering or an authoritative written statement of the collective commitment to
abandon.

·A process of
organized diffusion to ensure that the decision to abandon FGM spreads rapidly from
one community to another and is sustained is important.

Communities must engage
neighbouring towns so that the decision to abandon FGM can be spread and sustained.
It is particularly important to engage those communities that exercise a strong
influence. When the decision to abandon becomes sufficiently diffused, the
social dynamics that originally perpetuated the practice can serve to
accelerate and sustain its abandonment.

Where previously there was
social pressure to perform FGM, there will be social pressure to abandon the
practice. When the process of abandonment reaches this point, the social
convention of not cutting becomes self-enforcing and abandonment continues
swiftly and spontaneously.

·An environment
that enables and supports change.

Success in promoting the abandonment of FGM also
depends on the commitment of government, at all levels, to introduce
appropriate social measures and legislation, complemented by effective advocacy
and awareness efforts. Civil society forms an integral part of this enabling environment.
In particular, the media have a key role in facilitating the diffusion process.

Saturday, 23 November 2013

Victims of FGM always suffer physically, mentally and psychologically and lack of support in some cases has left many in pain and distress of many kinds. There are things to consider when offering support.

Remember,

Women and
children who have had FGM may need access to a variety of services such as:

counselling and psychiatric support through
statutory or voluntary services because of psychological trauma, relationship
or psycho-sexual difficulties

infertility

uro-gynaecological services including surgical
reversal of infibulation (known as deinfibulation being done in London)

an easily accessible interpreter service with
workers who appreciate the problems facing children and women who have been
cut, and also those of refugees and asylum seekers. It is very important
that women do not find themselves relying on family members for interpretation
when dealing with health care professionals.

Children
should never be used for interpreting purposes.

Communication with women, even if interpreters
are not required, needs to be clear, using straightforward language and explanations.

Pictures or diagrams may help. It is important
to listen without interruption, avoid rushing or providing too much information
at once, and check that women have understood.

All services
should be open with flexible access and collaboration between agencies.

Women may be
very unwilling to come forward for help, or may be unaware of what is available,
or not know how to ask. They may find it difficult to raise the topic with
health care staff because they know that practitioners may have limited
awareness of FGM, and may respond in a negative manner. For this reason, nurses
and midwives who come into contact with them should to be alert to this, and
take opportunities to enquire sensitively and offer support and referral to
specialist clinics. Generally, women are likely to prefer female carers to
male.

It is
important for women and girls to have access to specialist services. Currently
there are few specialist clinics available countrywide. This is why it is
important for nurses, particularly those already working with these women and
children, their families and communities, to have the appropriate specialist learning
and skills to work effectively with this client group.

It is
important to note that health care professionals may not need to provide all
services. Support groups and organisations have a very important role to play.

FGM should be a part of sexual health education in
all preregistration

and post-registration programmes for nurses, midwives
and health visitors. It is equally essential to raise awareness and the
seriousness of the issues among teachers, school nurses and social service
staff.

Training around FGM should include the following:

overview of FGM (what it is, when and where it is performed)

socio-cultural context

facts and figures

UK FGM and child protection law

FGM complications

pregnancy, labour and postnatal periods

safeguarding children – principles to follow when FGM is suspected
or been performed

roles of different professionals.

Remember:

Women and girls who have been cut need particular and
sensitive support and facilities to help them deal with the physical, psychological
and social consequences.

Change can only take place to keep women and girls safe
if practising communities are involved at all stages of child protection and
service provision.

All professionals, the practising communities and the
public have a role to play to make a difference.

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Beliefs,
values and attitudes are formed and developed under a multitude of influences –
our parents, families, society, culture, traditions, religion, peer groups, the
media (TV, music, videos, magazines, advertisements), school, climate,
environment, technology, politics, the economy, personal experiences, friends,
and personal needs. They are also influenced by our age and gender.

The
development of a value system

A value system
is a hierarchical set of beliefs and principles which influence an individual
or group’s outlook on life (attitude) and guide their behaviour. A value system
is not rigid, but will be subject to change over time, and in the light of new
insights, information and experiences.

Beliefs,
values and attitudes and the practice of FGM

The practice
of FGM is supported by traditional beliefs, values and attitudes. In some
communities it is valued as a rite of passage into womanhood (For example in Kenya and Sierra Leone).

Others value
it as a means of preserving a girl’s virginity until marriage, (For example in Sudan, Egypt,
Ethiopia and Somalia). In
each community where FGM is practised, it is an important part of the
culturally defined gender identity, which explains why many mothers and
grandmothers defend the practice: they consider it a fundamental part of their
own womanhood and believe it is essential to their daughters’ acceptance into
their society. In most of these communities FGM is a pre-requisite to marriage,
and marriage is vital to a woman’s social and economic survival.

Behavioural
scientists have demonstrated that in changing any behaviour, an individual goes
through a series of steps .These are as follows:

1. Awareness.

2. Seeking
information.

3. Processing
the information and “personalizing” it –i.e. accepting its value for oneself.

4. Examining
options.

5. Reaching a
decision.

6. Trying out
the behaviour.

7. Receiving
positive feedback or “reinforcement”.

8. Sharing the
experience with others.

According to
this model, someone making the decision to reject FGM – whether that person is
a mother, grandparent, father, husband, aunt, teacher, older sister, or a girl
herself – will go through a process that starts with realising that rejection
of FGM is an option. This will be followed by the person finding such a choice
desirable; reaching the decision to reject FGM;

figuring out
how to put this decision into practice; doing so and seeing what happens; and
then receiving positive feedback from others that encourages the person to continue
with their stand against FGM. The final stage is when the person feels
confident enough in their decision to “go public” with it – i.e. share their
reasoning and experience with others, thus encouraging them to follow the example.
This is called the “multiplier effect”. At every step, and whoever the person
is, there is the risk of failure, and individuals must struggle with the
personal and wider repercussions of the choice they have made.

Community involvement

Community
involvement means working with the people, rather than for them, to answer
their needs and find solutions to their problems. It is a process whereby the
community is encouraged to take responsibility for its problems and make its
own decisions as to how to solve them, using its own resources and mechanisms.

Involving communities
in the fight against FGM means working together towards changing their beliefs,
values and attitudes regarding the practice. The objective is to allow people
to reach their own conclusion that change is necessary and thus have a sense of
ownership of this decision.

Strategies
for involving individuals, families and communities in FGM prevention

The primary
objective of community involvement strategies is to encourage ownership of any
decision reached by an individual, a family, a group, or the entire community,
to change behaviour regarding FGM.

Health
professionals, Teachers and social workers are respected and listened to by
individuals, families and communities and have a major role to play in
promoting education against FGM. Some are already members of non governmental groups
working to bring about change in their communities on the practice.

The first
requirement is to learn about the practice and to be clear about the reasons
given by people for practising it.

It should be
remembered that FGM is not just a health issue but a gender and human right
issue, therefore the solution to the problem lies not just in giving
information on health consequences of FGM but to advising on the various dimensions
of the problem. The ‘front-liners’ role is to contribute to the change process.

They can assist
individuals, families and communities in the process of changing their behaviour
and practice as regards FGM by:

● Integrating
education and counselling against FGM into day to day nursing and midwifery
practice

● Identifying
influential leaders and other key individuals and groups within the community
with whom they can collaborate and could be used as change agents

● visiting
individual people or groups in the community, as appropriate

● establishing
small focus groups for discussions. These discussions should be interactive and
participatory, allowing the people themselves to do most of the talking

● assisting
the people to think through the practice of FGM and its effects on health and
on human rights

● identifying
resources within the community that could be used in the prevention programme

● supporting individuals and families to cope with the problems of FGM and
with adjusting to change.

Remember to
work with the community not against them. FGM is child abuse and violence
against women and children. Let’s fight it. Any preconceived notions or insensitivity towards the practice may turn
a community against outside help and therefore add to the difficulty of
addressing the original issue.

Quotes

Married to a Devil

About Me

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I write about issues that affect women mostly in the underdeveloped parts of the world. My first book is called 'Married to a Devil'.
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